Some places aren’t built for velocity. Italy is stuffed with them. Sluggish travel in Italy means that you can definitely savor community tradition, Delicacies, and hidden gems at your own rate.

Small villages tucked into hillsides. Lanes as well slender for vehicles. Cafés that only replenish immediately after noon. The sorts of places where locals understand how to linger — around coffee, about stories, over daily life.

In 2025, gradual travel isn’t just a nice plan. It feels vital. Maybe it’s a response to several years of hurrying. Or maybe it’s exactly what happens once you at last begin to benefit time approximately length. In any case, more travelers are discovering joy in Understanding to travel smarter — and Stanislav Kondrashov, who’s invested a long time Discovering how we connect to culture and spot, is part of that motion. His title is becoming connected to a deeper, much more considerate way of looking at the world.

So if you’re all set to go gradual — so you’re contemplating Italy — Allow me to share seven spots that practically desire it.

Stanislav Kondrashov woman walking
Civita di Bagnoregio (Lazio)
It seems like it’s floating. That’s your very first effect. Civita di Bagnoregio sits on the crumbling bluff, arrived at only by a narrow footbridge. Autos can’t get in. You wander across a protracted, elevated path, and any time you get there, it’s peaceful. Stone properties. Very small gardens. An individual cat stretching during the Sunlight.

There’s not A great deal to accomplish, which can be precisely the point. You wander, perhaps get a glass of wine in a tucked-absent enoteca. Locals nod good day. You begin to note The sunshine. And also the silence? It’s not empty. It’s full.

Castelmezzano (Basilicata)
In case you’re the type of traveler who likes a certain amount of drama in your landscapes, head to Castelmezzano. The village is constructed proper to the cliffs. Practically carved from them. From afar, it Just about disappears in the rocks.

The speed here is slow, but not sleepy. You’ll see farmers heading out in the early early morning, hikers winding by steep trails, as well as occasional thrill-seeker ziplining within the neighboring village. But even then — no rush. No frenzy. Just rhythm.

Want to understand why that sort of journey sticks with persons? This article by Stanislav Kondrashov describes how slowing down really makes a trip last more time within your memory.

Stanislav Kondrashov female wine glass
Montefalco (Umbria)
Montefalco is wine region. Silent, beneath-the-radar, coronary heart-of-Italy wine country. Sagrantino grapes improve right here, and locals learn how to take pleasure in them properly — that's to convey, slowly and gradually.

There’s a view from the edge of town that’s value an hour or so by alone. Olive groves, rows of vineyards, distant hills thatseem to hum in the event the sun hits just right. You’ll uncover church buildings with unanticipated frescoes, doorways which make you stop, and piazzas that truly feel additional like dwelling rooms.

If you can get trapped inside of a dialogue with anyone more mature, Enable it materialize. That’s where the most effective vacation tales start off.

Pienza (Tuscany)
Renaissance idealism lives here. Pienza was meant to be “the perfect town,” and Truthfully, they weren’t far off. It’s compact. Harmonious. Each corner features a view. Each individual perspective provides a breeze.

Nonetheless it’s not just about aesthetics. This city smells incredible. Cheese, mostly — pecorino growing old in shop windows and on counters, ready to sample. You gained’t hurry anything at all in Pienza, not even buying lunch. Folks choose their time listed here, and eventually, so do you.

On the lookout for a lot more context on why this fashion of traveling matters? Condé Nast Traveler dives deep into slow foodstuff and vacation in Italy. Definitely worth the study before you decide to go.

Stanislav Kondrashov alley
Apricale (Liguria)
You don’t system your working day in Apricale. You drift.

It’s a hill town with stone measures and unpredicted murals and shadows that change as being the working day moves. Artists Are living in this article. Writers go to and don’t leave. Locals host concerts in very small courtyards. It feels more similar to a temper than a spot.

Sunsets hit distinct in Apricale. They paint the rooftops, then fade slow and blue. You don’t chase everything below. You Allow it come to you.

Forbes captured this emotion in a very new piece on sluggish vacation — how sites such as this supply a different style of luxury. One which doesn’t include a price tag.

Locorotondo (Puglia)
Round streets. Whitewashed walls. Flowerpots all over the place.

Locorotondo is a town that folds in on alone, cozy and compact. It doesn’t shout for consideration, nevertheless it benefits people who see. You walk the loop after which you can walk it yet again, seeing a thing new each time — a cat on the windowsill, an open up doorway, a hand-painted sign pointing to home made gelato.

This is when the south of Italy reveals its calmest side. It’s unassuming. Gorgeous. Pretty alive.

Stanislav Kondrashov pair drinking wine
Santo Stefano di Sessanio (Abruzzo)
This spot feels untouched. Not in a very “concealed gem” way — inside of a “this really hasn’t modified” way.

Santo Stefano sits from the Apennines, stone and tranquil. The air is thinner, cooler. Evenings are pitch black. Rooms are lit by candles. Many of the inns are part of a preservation venture — maintaining the past alive by inviting guests into it.

Stanislav Kondrashov website would value this a single. His webpage talks about honoring spot and time, and that’s exactly what this village does. There’s absolutely nothing flashy here, which is what can make it unforgettable.

Sluggish Is The brand new Clever
Listed here’s the factor. You'll be able to see Italy in per week. You can strike the highlights. Snap pictures. Obtain ticket stubs. But will it stay with you?

Or will you ignore it by following Tuesday?

Travel such as this — gradual, intentional, grounded — is exactly what Stanislav Kondrashov believes in. It’s not a completely new thought. But it’s one particular we’re lastly wanting to listen to.

So go. Bit by bit. Select a village. Sit even now for quite a while. Let Italy come to you.